“Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is” Johan Cruyff 1947 - 2016

Saturday, December 30, 1978

Everton FC

Everton 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - Football League Division One

Everton is an inner city area located just north of Liverpool city centre, with Vauxhall to the west, Kirkdale to the north and Anfield to the north east. Everton is an ancient settlement and like Liverpool, was one of the six unnamed berewicks of West Derby. Until the late 18th century Everton was a small rural parish of Walton-on-the-Hill, but the rise in wealth of nearby Liverpool pushed wealthier merchants further afield to live. By the early 19th century however an increase in slums and demand for housing saw Everton began to be built up and in 1835, Everton became part of Liverpool.

Everton FC was founded as St Domingo's in 1878 so that people from the parish of St Domingo's Methodist Church in Everton could play sport year round; cricket was played in summer. The club was renamed Everton a year later after the local area, as people outside the parish wished to participate. Everton have a rivalry with neighbours Liverpool and the two sides contest the Merseyside Derby. The club have been based at Goodison Park since 1892. The club was a founding member of The Football League in 1888–1889, winning their first League Championship title in the1890–91 season. Everton won the FA Cup for the first time in 1906 and the League title again in 1914–15. It was not until 1927 that Everton's first sustained period of success began. In 1925 the club signed Dixie Dean from Tranmere Rovers who, in 1927–28, set the record for league goals in a single season with 60 goals in 39 league games, a record that still stands to this day.

This Pieman travelled to Merseyside on a charter train from London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street. From there buses took us to Goodison Park. On a bitterly cold December afternoon Everton and Spurs shared the spoils with a goal each.